Calvin r



C. R. DAVIS.

FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3,

Patented Sept. 9, 1919.

Jim's/Z2 071' UNITED STATES PATENT onrion.

CALVIN lib DAVIS, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TOEMERSON-*BRANTINGHAM COMPANY, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OFILLINOIS.

FERTILIZER-IDISTRIBUTER.

Specification of Letter s latent.

Patented Sept. 9, 1919.

Original application filed April 11, 1916, Serial No. 90,483. Dividedand this application filed July 3, 1916. Serial No. 107,316.

To all whom it may concern} Be it, known that I, CALVIN R. DAVIS, a

. citizen of the United States, residing at and character thereof. Whenthe manure is heavy and dense it is most practical to load the same onan ordinary fertilizer distributer to a maximum height of about 18inches, whereas when the manure is very light it may be loaded as highas 36 inches. In addition to the main distributing beater or cylinder,upperrbeaters have been emloyed for operation on the upper stratum ofmanure so as to make possible the distribution of a load of manure piledhigher than the main beater. But so far as I am aware, the arrangementof such upper beater with respect to the load and to the lower beaterhas not been such as will permit of most effective distribution.

The primary object of my invention is to provide in a fertilizerdistributer 1n combination with a lower beater, an upper beater mountedso as to be capable of vertical adjustment with respect to the lowerbeater within a range of movement which will enable said upper beater tooperate both below and above the uppermost point of the teeth of thelower beater. In other words, I have provided means whereby the upperbeater may be vertically ad usted according to the character of themanure and the height to which it is loaded for the purpose Of SGGUT-ing most'cfl'ective disintegration and distribution. By so adjusting theupper. beater,

that is, to a relatively high pom'tion for light manure piled high andto a considerably lower position for heavy manure in a low pile, thestrain on the upper and lower beaters is proportionally. distributed andequalized, and in addition the manure is better disintegrated anddistributed because each beater is operating on a proper amount ofmanure and is not crowded or overloaded.

Referring to the drawing;-

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through the rear end of afertilizer distributer embodying my improvements; and

' Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of a rear portion ofthe fertilizerdistributer.

My improvements may beembodied in any fertilizer distributor adapted fordistributing manure employing a rear distributing cylinder or beater. Inthe drawing I have illustrated somewhat diagrammatically the rearportion of a fertilizer distributer of conventional design comprisingwell known parts such as the fertilizer box 3 supported at its rear endsby carrying wheels 4:, an endless apron represented by the character 5adapted to be moved along the bed 6 of the fertilizer box to carry themanure to the main heater or distributing cylinder 7 mounted on 'therear end of the box. A wide spread attachment 8 may be mounted on theside sills of the box rearwardly of the main beater to effect furtherdisintegration and wider distribution of the manure. The main beater maybe driven from one of the carrying wheels by suitable means, such as byan endless chain 9 trained over a sprocketwheel on the beater shaft, andover sprocket wheels 11 and 12 and engaging the drive sprocket 13 on thecarrying wheel axle. By raisin and lowering the sprocket 12 as is wefiknown in the art, the chain 9 may be'moved into and out of engagementwith the sprocket wheel 13 to .put the beater into and out of operation.All of these parts, well known in the art, may be of suitable design,and it should be understood that my invention is not restricted toanyparticular form of fertilizer feed, heater or driving mechanism or hasany direct connection with the wide spread attachment shown.

My invention provides in combination with the main or lower beater, anupper beater 14 disposed forwardly of the .lower beater and mounted soas to be vertically adjustable a substantial distance for a fillposewhich will be presently apparent. he shaft lowhich carries this beateris journaled at its ends in bearings 16 which are adjustably mounted onarcuate supports 17 secured to the outer sidesof the fertilizer box. Theadjustable connection between the bearings 16 and the sup orts 17 ma bethrough the intermediary 0 bolts 18 a apt-' ed to be located in any of aseries of holes inthe supports 17 which are arranged sub stantiallyconcentric with the main beater shaft in a manner to enable asubstantial range of vertical adjustment of the upper beater relativelyto the lower beater. Side.

guards 19 prevent lateral displacement of the manure from the upperbeater and an angle iron brace 21 secured to the sides of the box spansat the top thereof and holds the supports 17 in fixed relative relationsbeater and the-lowermost point of the upper beater are substantially ona level with the top of the fertilizer box. The depth of an ordinary boxis about 18 inches and when heavy manure -is piled into the box levelwith the top thereof a considerable strain is imposed on the lowerbeater, since the entire work of disintegrating and distributing themanure would fall on this beater. With my improvements, the upper beatermay be lowered so as to penetrate about 2 inches into a bed of manurepiled 18 inches high so as to remove and distribute the top layer ofmanure, and consequently relieve the lower beater r on an undulyheavystrain. Should the manure be piled higher or be of a lighter grade towarrant a heavier load 'it will be obvious that since each beateroperates on a proportional amount of the load, the working strain andduty of the heaters are divided, each beater doing its own share of theWork and the upper beater being raised if necessar in accordance withthe circumstances. W en it is desired to distribute light manure orstraw it may be piled as high as 36 inches, side-boards being employedin this instance to' give the fertilizer box required depth, and theupper heater is adjusted to its uppermost position. In this position thelowermost point of the beater will be substantially two inches above thehighest point of the lower beater and because of the character of themanure each beater ma'y effectively handle a greater amount. 1

With regard to the adjustment of the upper beater to differentelevations in accordance with the different gradesof fertilizer it willbe noted that, due to the peculiar mounting of the upper heater, theoperativeness of the direct chain connection between the upper and lowerheaters is not aflected when any adjustment of this connection is made.In other words, the upper beater may be adjusted from its lowest to itshighest position on thearcuate supports 17 and,

.due to the fact that these supports are arranged substantiallyconcentric to the center of the main beater, there is no change indistance between the centers of the two heaters such as mightnecessitate the removal or addition of links in the chain or theemployment of a chain tightener to compensate for such change. I

It will thus be seen that by means of my improvements the upper beatermay be easily adjusted vertically through a substantial range ofmovement to accommodate the heaters to the varied working conditions. Bysuch provision various types of manure may be distributed in a most,effective and efiicient manner and the distributing mechanism is notunduly strained as mightbe the case if it could not be set for theparticular type of manure to be distributed.

I claim:

1. In a fertilizer distributer, the combination of a main distributingbeater, means for moving a bed of fertilizer rearwardly toward saidbeater, a second distributing beater positioned above and forwardly ofholes for holding the bearings rigidly in any adjusted position; and anendless chain connecting the heaters.

2. In a fertilizer distributer, the combination of a fertilizer box, amaindistributing beater mounted at the rear end of the box, means formoving a bed of fertilizer rearwardly in the box, an upper distributingbeater, supporting members for the upper beater fixedly secured to thesides of the box and providing beater-supporting portions forwardly ofand above the main heater and having a series of spaced holes atdifferent elevations in an arcuate path substantially concentric withthe center of the main beater, bearing brackets in which the ends of theupper'beater are journaled,

fixed means engageable in any of said opennecting the heaters.

Y CALVIN R. DAVIS.

